Mexico: US journalist shot during interview
October 6, 2019
A US journalist working for National Geographic was shot in the leg while working in Mexico, local officials said Saturday. The man was interviewing an alleged drug dealer in Chihuahua state, just south of El Paso, Texas, when armed men stormed in and began shooting.
Chihuahua Attorney General Jorge Nava said the attackers, who appeared to be a group of women, ambushed the purported dealer on Friday, killing him and an associate, who died later at a local hospital.
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'Obviously risky'
The wounded reporter belonged to a team of four conducting the interview. Nava described their plan to interview a member of organized crime as "obviously risky." He added that two people, also tied to local crime syndicates, had been killed in April in the same house where the group of journalists had set up cameras.
A statement from Nava's office said an investigation was underway but did not name any suspects or the victims.
Read more: Mexico: 'Journalism is the only source of truth'
Journalists at risk
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Mexico is the most dangerous country for journalists in the Western Hemisphere. Five journalists have been killed in Mexico this year.
Chihuahua is home to Ciudad Juarez, just over the border from El Paso. At the peak of Mexico's war on drug cartels in the mid-2000s, Ciudad Juarez was one of the most violent cities in the world.
es/cmk (AP, Reuters)